The third release from one of Mali's most promising singer songwriters is out at last. Koite's trademarks are all here: elegant nylon-string guitar picking, highly personal adaptations of Malian traditional music, and thoughtful, optimistic songs that celebrate the richness of Malian life and gently probe its shortcomings. High points include the Latin-tinged opener, "Batoumanbe," a sweet tale of impossible love, "Sin Djen Djen," a song of encouragement to Malian musicians, two rich guitar instrumentals, and the lively "Sambara," an intriguing, enigmatic song about shoes. One of those guitar instrumentals, "Sinama Denw," has powerful lyrics critiquing the practice of polygamy from the perspective of children, its youngest victims. But the words appear only in the notes, not on the recording.

Overall, this set of 13 songs is subdued, even more so than Ma Ya (1999), which was far more quiet than Koite's kicking debut Musa Ko (1995). Koite is a master of turning raw Malian folklore--such as the southern wassoulou sound, and the northern takamba--into refined, reflective pop songs. But with the exception of the excellent "Tere," none of these songs really pull out the stops. One may long for catchy, up-tempo cranker like "Nanale" or "I Ka Barra," two workouts from Musa Ko. But gentle as the selection here is, the songs are excellent, and wear well with repeated listening.

The new work features a notable new band member, veteran musician Keletigui Diabate, whose jazzy balafon work and occasional violin are a plus throughout. Keletigui even plays an Afro-Cuban montuno figure on balafon in a polished reworking of Koite's first big hit, "Cigarette Abana."

Contributed by: Banning Eyre
Originally published in: Songlines